Chapter 120 : Bianca’s Return (3)
Chapter 120: Bianca’s Return (3)
The underground of the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Seil.
Those gathered there were striking only the innocent table with expressions filled with anger.
“How lax must the research facility’s security have been for the test subject to escape?!”
“That’s right. This is a mistake that cannot be overlooked.”
At the chaotic scene, the masked man sitting at the highest seat shook his head.
It had not been long since the report arrived that one test subject had escaped from the laboratory established at the border of the Kingdom of Seil.
Moreover, the one responsible for the laboratory’s defense had tried to somehow cover up Bianca’s escape without reporting it, and that was how this incident had occurred.
“To think she fled to the border of the Ragnar Kingdom of all places…….”
“We can no longer move the Dark Knights.”
“Kyle Ragnar is not the problem. The Special Operations Unit beside him is the problem. They will surely investigate this matter.”
The fact that a test subject had escaped was an extremely serious matter.
The man sitting at the head seat, who had been tapping his fingers on the table, finally opened his mouth.
“One squad of the Dark Knights was guarding the laboratory. Yet the woman who escaped annihilated an entire squad of the knight order.”
“I would like to hear the leader’s opinion.”
“Kyle Ragnar.”
“Excuse me……?”
“As long as test subjects brought as slaves from the Ragnar Territory exist, he will not hesitate to track us.”
“……Does that mean the test subject who escaped this time is someone belonging to Kyle Ragnar?”
“It is merely my prediction.”
At his words, those in the underground instantly fell silent.
“Since she was someone who even risked infiltrating the laboratory, the name Ashabel is likely an alias. If she is a woman possessing that level of martial power, she is most likely affiliated with the Special Operations Unit.”
“……So in the end, you mean Kyle Ragnar will move?”
“Yes. The Ragnar Family tends to be extremely obsessed with those within their enclosure. Until now he had been restrained by the circumstances of the kingdom, but now that even the Daon Family has collapsed, Kyle Ragnar has no reason to hesitate.”
“But the moment they attack the Kingdom of Seil, the other kingdoms will not remain still.”
“As long as the Tylers Empire stands behind the Ragnar Kingdom, Kyle Ragnar will move decisively. The Tylers Empire is a group that regards us as enemies.”
News from the Dark Knights sent to pursue the escaped Bianca had been cut off.
It ended with their declaration that they would enter the border of the Ragnar Kingdom.
“It is war.”
“…….”
“Remember this. If you consider past history, the damage we suffered from the Ragnar Family was greater than that from Ian Kailers. The Ragnar Family are those who can never coexist with us.”
One hundred years ago, the Dark Constellation had been an organization far stronger than it was now.
But once it began a war with the Ragnar Family, it suffered enormous losses.
Considering that it took nearly a century to recover from that damage, it meant the organization had nearly been annihilated.
“That is correct. That is why we even brainwashed King Clover in order to restrain the Ragnar Family, was it not?”
“We should have erased them long ago……. To think the backlash from failing to eliminate them because of Reinhardt would return like this.”
“……Leader.”
“We may need to move our foundation elsewhere.”
If war could not be avoided, then they had to move with the goal of defeating the opponent by any means.
However, the opponent was Kyle Ragnar.
A man who had inherited the Frostfire after a hundred years—he was dangerous.
He adjusted his mask and rose from his seat.
“Separate from the war, prepare to relocate the laboratory. Even if we must change the entire foundation, the laboratory must be operated safely.”
Kyle, who was walking in order to move to the Kingdom of Seil together with Acacia, suddenly asked him a question.
“Acacia, do you remember?”
“What memory are you referring to? I have so many memories with you, my lord.”
“The day you first saw me.”
“Ah…… that is an embarrassing memory.”
“Do you remember what you said to me back then?”
The young man who had launched attacks at Kyle with venom-filled eyes.
Originally, that young man had been a nomad who lived on the plains.
His life, which should have been free upon the grasslands, had suddenly been turned upside down by Kyle’s appearance.
“……I believe I said, ‘I will never bow my head.’”
At that time, Kyle had been the leader of a thousand-man unit under the Empire’s 2nd Legion of the Tylers Empire.
Before the Special Operations Unit had been created, he had met Acacia for the first time when he had only encountered Seros.
The proud figure of the youth who raged wildly and confronted his superior’s orders head-on still remained vivid in his memory.
“It has already been about fourteen years since we spent time together.”
“Those fourteen years were very valuable time to me. Originally, once the war ended, I should have returned to the plains, but I remained by your side, my lord.”
Many things had happened before the child of a nomadic tribe—who wandered his entire life without settling anywhere—became a soldier of the Tylers Empire.
Acacia greatly hated the Slave Merchant Guild.
He condemned the Slave Merchant Guild just as fiercely as those who worshiped darkness.
“I am still someone who hates incompetent superiors and the Slave Merchant Guild just like back then. I was someone who should have freely roamed the plains, yet why do you think I remain by your side, my lord? Because serving beside you is more important than returning to my homeland.”
The day Kyle and Acacia first met—Kyle as a unit leader, and Acacia as a slave soldier belonging to another unit.
From that day onward, Kyle began paying attention to Acacia.
He confirmed his abilities and wanted to bring Acacia into his own unit.
However, Kyle, who had been an outsider, had been thoroughly rejected by the soldiers.
Under such circumstances, bringing the slave soldier Acacia into his unit was extremely difficult.
A man who maintained his rough personality even after repeatedly confronting his superiors.
Every time Kyle saw Acacia enduring all kinds of beatings with fierce eyes, he made a vow.
That he would rise to a higher place.
Just as he had vowed, it took exactly one year for him to rise from unit leader to centurion.
And the moment he became a centurion, he incorporated Acacia into his own unit.
“You are the ones who spent that long time with me. You must have felt hurt all this time.”
Kyle believed that the members of the Special Operations Unit might have felt disappointed seeing him focus only on the Ragnar Family.
However, that thought was wrong.
“Not even once. I was only surprised.”
“……Is that so.”
“Even within the Special Operations Unit, you never smiled. So every time you returned to Ragnar and showed a relaxed side, I was surprised. I never thought of it as disappointing. Rather, it made me feel relieved.”
Acacia had seen everything about how Kyle endured within the Tylers Empire, where he had no place to rest his heart.
Those who had settled in Ragnar were also true comrades who had stood beside him for a long time, as they had taken central roles within the Special Operations Unit.
“Hearing you say that does not make me feel bad.”
“I know my personality is light and rough. But I am not such a fool that I would show such traits toward my lord.”
Kyle always felt sorry whenever he looked at the members of the Special Operations Unit who had abandoned the chance to live peacefully and followed him.
Men who could not even marry and wandered from battlefield to battlefield.
He felt guilty that his fate seemed to influence the members of the Special Operations Unit.
“I want you all to properly settle in Ragnar and build families.”
“We have lived on battlefields our entire lives. Such peaceful lives do not suit us. We are merely shadows who follow while gazing only at our lord’s back.”
“There is no need to lie this far along, Acacia. I already knew long ago that you like Bianca.”
It would have been a lie to say that feelings did not arise after rolling together on battlefields for so long.
Acacia shook his head as he looked at Kyle, who saw straight through his feelings.
“……But the person inside Bianca’s heart is too powerful, is he not?”
“Bianca likes someone full of fighting spirit. Within the Special Operations Unit, the one who knows nothing but battle is especially you.”
“That applies to you as well, my lord.”
“…….”
“Did you not firmly reject Duke Luna every time she confessed? I never expected you to say something like building a family. Haha.”
Ian Kailers—the official iron wall of the Tylers Empire. A man who had been impossible to conquer, blocking every woman’s confession.
Hearing someone like him speak about building a family was rather amusing.
Kyle clicked his tongue when he saw the corner of Acacia’s lips rise.
“It seems your tongue has become quite sharp while I was not looking, Acacia.”
“You know us better than anyone, my lord. But conversely, we also know you better than anyone.”
The story of Kyle rejecting Duke Luna’s confession was famous throughout the Tylers Empire.
A young and beautiful woman.
Moreover, she possessed tremendous influence within the empire and the powerful backing of her family.
Yet Kyle had never wavered and pushed Duke Luna away every time she confessed.
“Do you know this? Duke Luna is also called an iron wall within the empire. She shares the same nickname as you.”
“……What are you trying to say?”
“My lord, you have long passed the age when you should build a family.”
It was a remark telling him to accept Duke Luna’s feelings already.
But Kyle merely smiled bitterly.
“There are many enemies around me.”
“My lord……”
“If the time ever comes when I create a family, it will be when I have become far stronger than my enemies.”
When the enemy was an overwhelming powerhouse, they often targeted families rather than confronting them directly.
Even within the empire, he had often seen attempts to exploit the strong by holding their families hostage.
No matter how strong someone’s resolve was, they inevitably weakened when family was involved.
“I have reasons why I cannot create a family, but you are different.”
“We are not very different from you, my lord. When targeting the strong, families are often attacked, but their hands and feet are also targeted. Do you not know? Even those with the strongest loyalty chose betrayal when their families were taken hostage.”
The Special Operations Unit, who had survived battlefields full of schemes and traps, knew well how frightening the world was.
There were countless people who would use any means necessary to grasp what they wanted.
Kyle also understood well what Acacia was thinking, so he said nothing further.
Then at that moment, Acacia carefully spoke.
“Creating a family means increasing the number of people one must take responsibility for—there is no one who does not know that. In the past, I never dared think of creating a family for that reason…… but Ragnar might be different.”
Emperor Adrian had suffered severe headaches because of Duke Luna, who had visited him every single day since returning from the Ragnar Kingdom.
Today as well, she came early in the morning and protested, making him feel as though his insides might burst.
“Please send me to Ragnar!”
“……Did I not say no?”
“The whole world already knows that Your Majesty and that person are friends. For the sake of strengthening ties with the Ragnar Kingdom, do you not intend to send me there in marriage?”
“Haah…… Duke Luna, if I could form a solid alliance with Kyle, I would do anything, but this is not it.”
“Why not?”
“Do you know why Kyle does not marry?”
Granting what Duke Luna wanted was not difficult.
To be honest, Emperor Adrian was someone who desired more than anyone that Duke Luna and Kyle would end up together.
There was nothing better than marriage for securing a firm alliance.
“Because he is a coward.”
“……Pardon?”
“He is a coward who cannot abandon his family and continue fighting, which is why he does not marry.”
At Adrian’s words, Duke Luna tilted her head.
After all, Kyle was a man with firmer resolve than anyone.
Calling such a man—who seemed as though he had neither blood nor tears—a coward was something she could not understand.
“Your Majesty.”
“He must be afraid. The enemies he must face are enormous. To be honest, if it were only something like the Holy Empire, I would have forced the marriage long ago.”
The enemies Kyle had to face were massive.
They might even possess forces greater than the Tylers Empire.
Those who worship darkness did not refer solely to the Dark Constellation.
Even Emperor Adrian, who possessed exceptional intelligence networks, did not know every organization.
The followers of darkness were scattered throughout the continent like a disease.
“……Even so.”
“Many believe that the main enemy of the fifteen-year war was the Holy Empire, but you know well that is not the truth, do you not?”
The war that had continued viciously for fifteen years.
The Tylers Empire had not actually fought the Holy Empire of Ru all that time—it had been waging a long war against those who worshiped darkness.
The Holy Empire of Ru had merely been the enemy visible on the surface.
“I know that as well, but I cannot just stand by and watch him bear everything alone.”
“Haah…….”
“Please send me to Ragnar. Even if he is a coward, it is fine. I will show him while standing beside him.”
“Duke Luna.”
“I know too. What that fear is…….”
The Luna Family also had many enemies.
Her father had faced many crises after creating a family.
Enemies frequently targeted family members, and every time that happened, the knights of the Luna Family sacrificed themselves.
Once a family was taken hostage and shaken, even the strongest resolve would waver.
“I am not so weak that I would be captured by his enemies.”
“…….”
“Your Majesty wants an alliance through blood ties. But the King of the Ragnar Kingdom has already married, so the only one left is Kyle Ragnar.”
“Are you truly confident?”
At Adrian’s half-doubting gaze, Duke Luna displayed a bright smile.
“No matter how impregnable the fortress is, I have absolutely no intention of giving up.”